Spiritual Spaghetti
By Debbie Lindstrom
Oct 30, 2007
Ahh…spaghetti! Just the thought of it makes one’s mouth water. The soft and chewy pasta cooked to perfection—al dente, of course. The rich savory tomato sauce laden with spices and tender veggies. And don’t forget the meat! It’s not real spaghetti unless there’s meat in it. Each part is essential to the making of a meal that is one of my family’s favorites and I’m sure yours as well. Today I’d like to take a different look at spaghetti and show how this favorite meal can remind us of our Christian walk.
Spaghetti has 3 essential parts: the pasta, the sauce and the meat. Together these 3 ingredients give us a wonderful nutritious meal that helps us to be healthy and strong. In the same way there are 3 aspects of our Christian walk that if we will be faithful to do, we will be spiritually healthy and strong.
The first ingredient in spaghetti is the pasta. Pasta is a carbohydrate and useful for quick daily energy. Carbohydrates are filling and quickly satisfy cravings and hunger pangs. But as Christians, we also need quick energy for our daily walk. We have a hunger for the things of God that daily needs to be satisfied. How can we get this quick spiritual energy? By praying, worshiping, and thanking God. As we turn our hearts to focus on the Lord in these acts of worship, our energy is renewed. As we sing songs of praise even when we don’t “feel like it,” somehow our outlook on life is changed. What seemed so big at the moment now seems so small in light of an infinite God and eternity. Instead of focusing and worrying about our problems, we can turn them over to God and trust Him to help us endure through to the end of that trial. We can pray for others and lift up their needs as well. And by doing so, our problems seem to diminish. And instead of looking at our lack, we can praise God for all the blessings that we have in Him. So the next time, you are feeling low and need some energy in your day, grab some spiritual carbs and start worshipping, praying and thanking God. But carbs by themselves are kinda bland and usually need something to give them some flavor.
Gong back to the spaghetti, it’s the sauce that gives it its flavor and spice. And we need flavor in our spiritual lives! We tend to get in ruts and routines. We tend to just go through the motions. But God is so good to spice up our lives by giving us daily opportunities to glorify Him. It may be by serving others, helping someone in your family, calling a friend to offer encouragement, sharing a bit of wisdom from God’s word to a hard situation, sharing the Gospel with a stranger, working through a conflict in a godly way. The list is endless and unique to each individual. Look for opportunities that God gives to spice up your life! And purpose in your heart to glorify Him! This is no small task and many times we fail. But the good news is that the recipe is not spoiled by our failures. We usually get the opportunity to try that test again to gain victory in our lives. What joy there is in serving the Lord! There is such pleasure in knowing that the Lord has somehow used us to bless someone else. So like every good spaghetti sauce, don’t skimp on the spices. Use every opportunity that God brings your way to glorify and enjoy Him.
Now pasta and sauce are delicious. But if our meal doesn’t have any meat, it won’t stick with us. Meat is a protein to give us strength and build muscle. And just as we need to exercise our physical muscles, we also need to develop our spiritual muscles. Our spiritual lives need meat too, and God has provided through the meat of His Word. As we feed on His Word, we will be strengthened. Through the Word, God shows us what He requires of us. We find out what displeases Him. We gain wisdom for walking our daily lives. We learn to trust Him because of His faithfulness throughout the generations. We learn how to solve problems and how to relate to others.
Oh the depth of the Word! Libraries of books have been written on what the Bible contains and yet there is still more that we can glean from it. It is the best selling book of all time and for a reason, because it is God’s love letter to us--full of love, encouragement for daily living, and wisdom. It shows us where we’ve failed and how to get back up. When all else fails, we can go to the Word and there are words of life to spur us on. And as we daily feed on His word, we are strengthened in our faith. We need the Word to have the stamina to make it through each day. And by disciplining ourselves to read the Bible daily, we develop spiritual muscles to fight the battles that come our way. Battles such as laziness, contentment, laying down our lives for others when what we really want is for others to lay down their lives for us. We learn to emulate Christ, our Lord, by laying down our lives for others instead of satisfying our own fleshly desires. The Word is essential to our walk and our spiritual food. It satisfies our souls, just as spaghetti satisfies our palette.
So the next time you eat a plate of spaghetti, I encourage you to think about your spiritual walk. Are you incorporating a good balance of all the ingredients necessary for your spiritual health? Spaghetti that is lacking just one of these ingredients just isn't the same. In the same way, we need all these disciplines for our daily walk with the Lord. And as we learn to glorify Him, our lives will be more enjoyable just like a well-balanced plate of spaghetti! Bon a petit!
By Debbie Lindstrom
Oct 30, 2007
Ahh…spaghetti! Just the thought of it makes one’s mouth water. The soft and chewy pasta cooked to perfection—al dente, of course. The rich savory tomato sauce laden with spices and tender veggies. And don’t forget the meat! It’s not real spaghetti unless there’s meat in it. Each part is essential to the making of a meal that is one of my family’s favorites and I’m sure yours as well. Today I’d like to take a different look at spaghetti and show how this favorite meal can remind us of our Christian walk.
Spaghetti has 3 essential parts: the pasta, the sauce and the meat. Together these 3 ingredients give us a wonderful nutritious meal that helps us to be healthy and strong. In the same way there are 3 aspects of our Christian walk that if we will be faithful to do, we will be spiritually healthy and strong.
The first ingredient in spaghetti is the pasta. Pasta is a carbohydrate and useful for quick daily energy. Carbohydrates are filling and quickly satisfy cravings and hunger pangs. But as Christians, we also need quick energy for our daily walk. We have a hunger for the things of God that daily needs to be satisfied. How can we get this quick spiritual energy? By praying, worshiping, and thanking God. As we turn our hearts to focus on the Lord in these acts of worship, our energy is renewed. As we sing songs of praise even when we don’t “feel like it,” somehow our outlook on life is changed. What seemed so big at the moment now seems so small in light of an infinite God and eternity. Instead of focusing and worrying about our problems, we can turn them over to God and trust Him to help us endure through to the end of that trial. We can pray for others and lift up their needs as well. And by doing so, our problems seem to diminish. And instead of looking at our lack, we can praise God for all the blessings that we have in Him. So the next time, you are feeling low and need some energy in your day, grab some spiritual carbs and start worshipping, praying and thanking God. But carbs by themselves are kinda bland and usually need something to give them some flavor.
Gong back to the spaghetti, it’s the sauce that gives it its flavor and spice. And we need flavor in our spiritual lives! We tend to get in ruts and routines. We tend to just go through the motions. But God is so good to spice up our lives by giving us daily opportunities to glorify Him. It may be by serving others, helping someone in your family, calling a friend to offer encouragement, sharing a bit of wisdom from God’s word to a hard situation, sharing the Gospel with a stranger, working through a conflict in a godly way. The list is endless and unique to each individual. Look for opportunities that God gives to spice up your life! And purpose in your heart to glorify Him! This is no small task and many times we fail. But the good news is that the recipe is not spoiled by our failures. We usually get the opportunity to try that test again to gain victory in our lives. What joy there is in serving the Lord! There is such pleasure in knowing that the Lord has somehow used us to bless someone else. So like every good spaghetti sauce, don’t skimp on the spices. Use every opportunity that God brings your way to glorify and enjoy Him.
Now pasta and sauce are delicious. But if our meal doesn’t have any meat, it won’t stick with us. Meat is a protein to give us strength and build muscle. And just as we need to exercise our physical muscles, we also need to develop our spiritual muscles. Our spiritual lives need meat too, and God has provided through the meat of His Word. As we feed on His Word, we will be strengthened. Through the Word, God shows us what He requires of us. We find out what displeases Him. We gain wisdom for walking our daily lives. We learn to trust Him because of His faithfulness throughout the generations. We learn how to solve problems and how to relate to others.
Oh the depth of the Word! Libraries of books have been written on what the Bible contains and yet there is still more that we can glean from it. It is the best selling book of all time and for a reason, because it is God’s love letter to us--full of love, encouragement for daily living, and wisdom. It shows us where we’ve failed and how to get back up. When all else fails, we can go to the Word and there are words of life to spur us on. And as we daily feed on His word, we are strengthened in our faith. We need the Word to have the stamina to make it through each day. And by disciplining ourselves to read the Bible daily, we develop spiritual muscles to fight the battles that come our way. Battles such as laziness, contentment, laying down our lives for others when what we really want is for others to lay down their lives for us. We learn to emulate Christ, our Lord, by laying down our lives for others instead of satisfying our own fleshly desires. The Word is essential to our walk and our spiritual food. It satisfies our souls, just as spaghetti satisfies our palette.
So the next time you eat a plate of spaghetti, I encourage you to think about your spiritual walk. Are you incorporating a good balance of all the ingredients necessary for your spiritual health? Spaghetti that is lacking just one of these ingredients just isn't the same. In the same way, we need all these disciplines for our daily walk with the Lord. And as we learn to glorify Him, our lives will be more enjoyable just like a well-balanced plate of spaghetti! Bon a petit!
1 comment:
Hi, Deb....this is a test to see if I can comment. Let me know via Email....Lv...Pop
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